Nightmare dream world
by TransparentAnswer
Summary: An amnesiac orphan is taken into a special facility for special children. Hearing a rumor of voices, the orphan decided to check on it and has ended up in a world where they are filled with the pasts of his new friends... (An AU based and inspired on the freeware PC game, Alice Mare) Disclaimer: All rights belong to their rightful owners. Cover art is by シアン from Pixiv
1. Chapter 1

Kidou: First, you wrote that second version of your story and now, you want to write a new one?  
Skullcandy1102: Eh, can't blame my head for wanting to write it ever since I cleared the game last night. Plus, the other story is made out of boredom so I may or may not delete it later.  
Someoka: Really... And I thought you say you'll have nightmares when you play horror games at night?  
Skullcandy1102: FYI, it's not exactly horror. And be glad I didn't write an Ib AU which is way creepier and scarier than this game.  
Gouenji: Why do you change your mind?  
Skullcandy1102: One, I have yet to finish the game. Two, it's as Someoka said. Three, do you want me to turn ALL of you or rather, ANY one of you into a lolicon (Lolita complex)?  
All: WTF!? HELL NO!  
Endou: Wait... what do you mean by Lolicon? I thought the player for that game, Ib is a teen?  
Skullcandy1102: No shit sherlock Endou. *Flips table* Ib is freaking nine years old!  
All: O_o  
Skullcandy1102: And don't bash on Kouri about Ib's age unless you want to be killed by Ib fans.  
All: O_O  
Skullcandy1102: Thank you very much.  
**WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ALICE MARE!**

* * *

_"The ant told me that the frog is bad."_

_"The frog told me that the cat is bad."_

_"The cat told me, no, the rabbit is the worst of them all."_

_"So I…"_

* * *

**夢の中で**

**Inside the dreams**

* * *

"...So that's roughly how life will be for you here. If you don't understand, there is a note in your room that explains it all again." A man with long disshevelled hair explained to the boy sitting in front of him. The boy is of a normal height. Spiky ice blue hair and ice like eyes. "...Alright." He simply answered. "What should I call you?" "Oh, just call me sensei just like how every child living in here does. And before you go, I'd like you to have this." The man handed him a notebook with a blue cover to suit him. "And since dinner has yet to come, how about you introduce yourself to your new dorm mates?" He suggested and the boy obliged. Nodding and left the room where the facility's caretaker had stayed.

The boy took the opportunity to look around the facility. The dining room is right near to where the teacher of the facility is resting at. There is another room but it is inaccessible at the moment. So he decided to wander around first. Up the second floor, there is a library, vacant rooms that are unused and also a material storehouse. Seeing enough, he went to check on the other doors next to his room. Opening the one closest to his room, he saw a white haired boy with golden eyes.  
"Ah! Are you that new kid that sensei is telling me about?"  
"Yes... why?"  
"Cool! I'm Atsuya! There's another person staying in this room but you'll probably meet him later!"  
"Yeah... sure."  
"Oh yeah! I haven't got your name!"  
"...It's Suzuno Fuusuke."  
"Suzuno... That's cool! Let's play together soon!"  
"...Sure."  
'He's too cheery... And who is that other person that he mentioned?' The blue haired boy thought. He soon left the room and went to the next one. He was surprised to see many teddy bears inside the room. Playing with one of the teddy bears is a girl of violet hair and wears a red hood. "Hello?" He called but only to startle her. "A- ah!" The girl soon calmed down and said softly. "I- I apologize... I- I'm not used to t-talking..." He looked at her with wary eyes that it was something else but decided to shrug it off.  
"I'm Suzuno Fuusuke."  
"F- Fuyuka."  
The introduction is short due to her somewhat shyness but Suzuno decided to leave it be. When he went to the next room, however, he is met by a bucket of water falling on top of him which he barely managed to avoid. A few frops of water got to his arm though which is uncovered by the sleeves of his shirt. "Aw man, I was hoping sensei would fall for it!" The owner of the room whined. That was when Suzuno made contact with the teal haired mischievous boy. 'So this place got one of those pranksters too, huh?'  
"Well, sorry about that. I'm Kariya Masaki. Most of them call me Kariya though. You are?"  
"Suzuno Fuusuke."  
"Suzuno, huh? Pleased to meet you!"  
After talking with the boy for some time, he left the room but then felt someone stare at him. He soon saw a girl with dark green hair. "Oh, you're alive." She simply said. 'Excuse me?' An irk mark is visible as he heard what she said. "Well, you seem dead despite being a living human." She told him. "I don't have time for this..." Suzuno muttered.  
"Oh, and I'm Minori."  
"Suzuno Fuusuke. You hate people, don't you?"  
"...Yes. I hate people."  
That conversation ended there as they heard the teacher called for dinner.

-  
Days passed and the boy is starting to get used to his new life. He is starting to talk normally with his dorm mates. Well, with the exception of the night dweller Shirou whom he had met when he visited Atsuya's room during the night. He also heard from Kariya that there is a rumor regarding a voice calling during the night somewhere in the second floor. And the teacher warned them not to go into the second floor. Out of curiosity, he decided to go to the second floor and heard something coming from the material storehouse. He then opened the door and soon heard the voice becoming closer, and louder. "Help..." He soon found the source to be from a butterfly glass. He then touched the butterfly gently but once he touched it, a light shone and the glass soon shattered and fell. Suzuno is luckily, unharmed.

"WHO'S THERE!?" The teacher called, unluckily for Suzuno and saw the boy in front of what once stood a butterfly in the wall. "Fuusuke-kun, why are you here?" "I heard it calling..." He said.  
"I heard the butterfly's voice asking for help..."  
"The butterfly asked for help? It may have been alive before but all I know, it has been dead for a long time."  
"...What?"  
Before he could get an answer, the man held his head. "Sensei?" "It's just a head ache..." He murmured. The man saw Suzuno's worried gaze and gave a smile. "There, there, there, there, there, there. I'm fine." He reassured the young boy. "Now go back to bed. It's getting late." Without any word, the child obliged and went to his room. Once inside, though. He heard a cat's meow and it entered the closet in his room. Without questioning anything, he followed the cat inside. Soon, he found himself in a room. He advanced further but only to be shocked by someone shouting. "Yipes!"  
"Jesus! You scared me! Kids like you shouldn't be around this kind of corner you know Alice~."  
"...Alice? I'm not Alice!" Suzuno shouted with an irk mark at his head. "Huh? Your names not Alice? Well, whatever Alice says is law here anyways! Better get going!" The cat soon left in a flash. 'What was that all about?'

-  
He soon entered the building in the world which the white rabbit he had met described as a world of "dreams". 'With all the blood here? Fat chance.' Suzuno grimly thought as he saw a puddle of dried blood on the floor. And he was told to help the white rabbit to recover the world key's and he regretted it. As they say, curiosity killed the cat. He entered the first room which had been Atsuya and Shirou's room. "Morning Alice! Let's play!"

* * *

**Chapter one.  
END**

* * *

Suzuno: Why me as Allen? Plus the Fubuki twins as Letty and Rick, Fuyuka as Chelsy, Kariya as Joshua, and Minori as Stella?  
Skullcandy1102: Well... either because you have a few things similar in personality or I just think that you suit them well. As for the Fubuki twins and Minori, you'll see for yourself. For Fuyuka, she's soft spoken all the time that I think she fits Chelsy and as for Kariya, I think you knew why. *Stares at Kariya with a mischievous grin*  
Kariya: What?  
Skullcandy1102: Nothing. Oh, I think I'm replaying this game to get a touch of the plot again. BUT MY HEART. T_T  
All: *Sweatdrop*

Next chapter: _w_ o_ u_ _n_e_ _nd _r_l


	2. Chapter 2

Taiyou: Ne, what's with the blank dashes at the end of the last chapter where you put "Next chapter hint"?  
Skullcandy1102: Oh, that. Just for those who read to guess the title of this chapter and the fairy tale Miwashiba-san used for that character.  
Fudou: Really? I didn't notice. *Sarcasm*  
Skullcandy1102: How observant. *Sarcasm*  
Kidou: I think I figure out the title, but you're probably going to reveal it in here, aren't you?  
Skullcandy1102: You know me Kidou. You know me. And for those who didn't know, Miwashiba-san is the person who created Alice Mare.  
**WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ALICE MARE!**

* * *

**二人で ― ヘンゼルとグレーテル**

**Two of us ― Hansel and Gretel**

* * *

Suzuno opened his eyes to find that he is on someone's bed. He had agreed to play with Atsuya and was told to open up the closet which is how he ended up on the bed. 'One bed...? I thought Atsuya said Shirou was there too?' He wondered but soon shrug it off. He is about to leave the door but only to find it lock. 'That's weird...' "Am I supposed to do something before?" He said particularly to no one. With a sigh, he decided to look around the room. He noticed there are mushroom's at the corner of a room, an empty cup, a book shelf which one of the books had the title "Mother Goose" and there are two knives above the dresser's. He took the smaller knife since he didn't like to carry anything heavy. When he looked at the potted plant, he noticed something stuck in the plant leaves and used the knife to cut the leaves. He found a blank notebook scrap which soon formed letters and a image.

_"My house is deep in a forest. _  
_There are lots of animals, and the air is really nice. _  
_It's a wonderful place. _  
_My family is mother, father, and one more. _  
_He's always with me. _  
_Always there for me. _  
_From good morning to good night. _  
_But it's too bad he can't play tag or anything with me."_

Once Suzuno had finished reading and looking at the pictures, he heard the click of the door, meaning the door has been unlocked. 'It looked like that I had to clear whatever it is that I had to do to move on. Though no one is going to tell me how.' Suzuno mused and soon entered the next room. He saw two beds, a table, and a kitchen. He saw a note which read

"To my family, Do you know where my gold medal is? I had it in my pocket before bed... If you find it, put it in the very top dresser drawer on the left side.  
- Dad"

'Before bed... He must have accidentally misplace it at his bed.' Suzuno thought. He walked towards the two beds and notice something gleaming at one of the corners of the bed. He soon grabbed the item. 'Found it.' Suzuno is about to put it into the dresser until he saw two eyes appearing. "Dresser. Dresser. I am dresser. Content. None. Medal. None. None, none..." It then saw the gold medal Suzuno found and said. "You have medal? Insert! Back where was!" 'If I remember it right...' Suzuno pulled the top dresser and placed it at the left side of it. "Medal! Where belong! Thank! Give, this." He obtained a notebook scrap again.

_"My mother isn't my real mother. _  
_I heard my mother passed away from illness. _  
_The mother I have now, often teases her. _  
_So I take the brunt of it for her. _  
_I'm responsible for all the hurtful things. _  
_But when I'm beaten, I can't protect her."_

He soon heard the door unlock and went outside. He soon noticed something which shapes like a light shard. 'What is this...?' He wondered but then took it for keepsake. It maybe helpful sometime soon. He took notice of his surroundings as well. A deep forest. Just like what the first scrap note said. He advanced further to see Atsuya on the ground. Suzuno approached him but he said. "I'm thirsty..." Suzuno then take a good look at the boy. He looked like he had dehydrated. Suzuno went back to the front of the house and walked towards the well. He took a bucket and placed the water there. "Hm?" He noticed a scrap of paper near the well.

_"One day, mother said we'd go for a walk. _  
_I didn't want to, but she dragged me by hand into the forest. _  
_Like usual, after walking a long way, mother said we'd take a break. _  
_You stay here, she told me, and I sat there the whole time. _  
_It got dark. _  
_I was scared. _  
_It's pitch black. _  
_I was so, so scared. _  
_So I closed my eyes and talked to him. _  
_What's your name? What's your favorite food? What don't you like? _  
_I was surprised. _  
_He wasn't like me at all."_

'Is that Shirou...?' He wondered but soon went back to his original motive. 'I think there's a cup somewhere inside...' He remembered and entered the house. With the first room being empty of cups, he went inside the second room where there is a cup just like how he remembered. He took it and walked out. Taking the water from the bucket and soon to where Atsuya is and handed him the cup of water. Atsuya groggily looked at the cup and soon noticed there is water inside. "Water!" He took the cup and soon drank the contents. "Thanks Suzuno. I thought I was going to die there!" He smiled and soon asked. "But where is this? It looked like where I used to live..."  
"This is a dream world, I think."  
"A dream? That's cool! But Shirou's not here... I always remember talking to him all the time in my dreams... Where is he...?"  
Atsuya seems worried that his sibling is not here but Suzuno reassured the boy by tapping his shoulder. "We'll find him soon. Let's get out of here together." That brought the smile back on his face. "Really? Yay! Oh, there's a sign behind me but I can't read some of them. And it looked like a riddle too..." "Let me look at it." The boy stood back and Suzuno read the sign.

_"The two paths look very much alike. But their ends are slightly different. Where are they different? Answer in numbers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6."_

"Eh~? You can read them! That's cool! I would always skip some of the classes that made sensei mad... But I can see the clocks and a few letters!" 'No wonder you can't read this... Or it maybe just me who would spend most of my time reading that knows most of the words.' Suzuno thought to himself.  
Suddenly, a white like bird appeared on top of the sign and said. "Read it? You read it? Tell me. Tell me if you know. Don't mess up." Ahead of the two, he saw two paths. He first checked the left. He saw a bar used to hang the laundry which has one cloth. Three white tiles, and the others are grasses. Suzuno checked the right and saw one thing. There are two clothes hanging in the bars instead of one. The tiles are the same as the one he saw in the left. '"Their ends are slightly different" is what the riddle said... That is one difference. The rest of them would be the similarity? There are three tiles here as well...' Finally found the answer. He then went to the bird and answered. "The answer is 1, 3, and 6." "Correct! Now you can have this!" The bird gave him another notebook scrap and soon went away.

_"Is this the deep forest? I should go back. _  
_I'm fine, but he doesn't like living here. _  
_He'll say it grosses him out again. _  
_Why does that witch have to tease him so? _  
_I have to do away with that evil witch."_

'How did Atsuya not know that his mother took him there? And I think he mentioned talking to Shirou... What's going on?' He shook his head and Atsuya looked at him. "Let's head back to the house for a while." Atsuya nodded and they walked but to their surprise, they saw many sweets around. Pocky stick's, chocolate, cake, all the sweets that they could name. "Shirou's not here... He always seem lonely unless I talked to him... I wonder why..." Atsuya said. He thought and soon asked the blue haired boy. "Ne, do you have someone important to you?"  
"I... I don't know. I don't remember anything after I heard that my parents are dead..."  
"Sokka... Sorry about that..."  
All of a sudden, the hooded cat appeared. "Looking for something?" "AHH!" Atsuya shouted due to surprise. "Haven't seen ya before. Hello Alice." 'Him and this Alice thing again...'  
"Who's Alice? I'm Atsuya!"  
"Nah, you're Alice. 'Cause I said so. But I'll just let that sliiide. This what you're looking for?" The cat held a boy with similar looks as Atsuya just that his hair is slightly different.  
"Shirou!"  
"He was looking pretty tasty, so I thought I'd just eat 'im. I mean, really, guy's pretty broken. Plus, I gotta second one! Watcha ma call that. . . .one rock two birds? Well, I've done what I did. Let's meet again in a Dream!" then he disappeared. "Ah! He vanished!" Atsuya yelled. All that is left is Atsuya, Suzuno and Shirou who is pale and there is some blood at his head. "Ugh..." Shirou groaned in pain. "Let's walk back in." Suzuno chided and the two agreed. Suzuno told them to head in earlier as he found another of the same light shards again.

"This place looked like my old house... Except for the sweets~ Can I eat some?" Atsuya asked as he looked at the sweets. "Sensei... I think sensei is there..." Shirou muttered. "Sensei?" Suzuno wondered. "Let's check it out." The two nodded and saw one shadow. It's not the man they are looking for. "Why did you come back?" The shadow said. "You're always going down deep roads you don't know. At this point, I can't care for you. You'll only get hurt more. So why even come back?" "I don't like this... Shirou..." Atsuya murmured. But the shadow heard. "That name again, Shirou, Shirou. . .Who are you always talking to? There's no one here but me, my husband, and you. . . . .Disgusting." That made Atsuya burst. "He exists! He definitely exists! Why-how can you...I-I'm sorry. But...I'm sorry...I'm sorr...!" "Atsuya...?" Suzuno called as he noticed the slight change in him.

"Evil witch..." Suzuno saw that Atsuya's appearance changed and he started to look like Shirou. "Why is it always, always the same thing with you? I'll protect you Atsuya!" Realization soon hit him as he heard Atsuya, no, Shirou said that. 'All the scraps I found make sense now... Each of the dream world is the world which consisted of their past... Shirou never existed... or rather... he and Atsuya are the same person!' "YOU!" The shadow shouted and is about to attack but before the shadow could do anything, Suzuno tackled it into the fire. Once Atsuya had regained control of his body, he saw the person inside the fire and called. "Mom!" He went into the fire and disappeared. He then found another paper. Making it the last notebook scrap that he found.

_"I'm so hungry. _  
_If only my house and my clothes could be tasty sweets. _  
_Then everyone in my family could have a good meal. _  
_Oh, but I guess chocolates melts really quick. That won't work. _  
_I burned it all. _  
_When I took everything onto myself, he could smile all the while. _  
_I like him, I really do, as siblings. _  
_But why was I born? _  
_But is this right? _  
_Is it wrong for me to exist? _  
_Sensei, is -is- - th- -ly r- I e-?"_

Suzuno couldn't make out the final words which are blurred. But he managed to interpret it and it seems to be Atsuya, or rather. His other self, Shirou saying "Is his pain the only reason I exist?" He also made out that the first four sentences are Atsuya while the rest are Shirou's. Soon, everything went black and he found himself back in the halls once more.

-  
Suzuno walked in front to talk to the white rabbit again. "Ah, you made it back. Why are you crying?" "Eh?" That is when Suzuno noticed the tears falling from his eyes. "Atsuya... Shirou..." He murmured.  
"One World to the next is it. . . .What a bother. Well, fair enough. You recovered one of them. I'll collect everything you picked up in the World as well. They'll soon vanish at any rate. . .The Alice seems to be hanging on by a thread now. And the torn pages. . . .I'll put this together. Here you are."  
The white rabbit gave a burgundy notebook with the name Atsuya written at it. "Now then, I'll open the door to the next World. I'm counting on you once more." He said and the boy soon moved to the halls. Only to see the hooded cat again.

"The rules of these Worlds were all set up by somebody y'know. I don't get it, myself. But he must have a lot of time on his hands! Makin' all these dumb rules! Bah! But we gotta follow 'em. . . . 'Cause if we don't, we'll get punished."  
"You're really wasting my time here... what do you want?"  
"What? Can't a guy talk about what he likes? What you consider normal's gonna vary from person to person. Boy, you look like a wreck. Don't need to get so worked up about somebody you just met."  
"I don't have time for this..."  
"Not at all tired are 'ya? Oho. . . .Did you forget that too? I know everything 'cause I stole it. Not giving it back, 'course. So tell me, is it really empty inside 'ya? Is there even the slightest kind of anything?" He asked Suzuno and it doesn't look like he is going to budge anytime soon until it was answered. "I don't know." He simply replied. He's not going to waste anymore time with the hooded cat anyway.  
"That so. Well, I'll ask you again later. Prayin' you despair real soon. Hey, it's time. We'll talk later." With that, the cat disappeared.

"Finally." Suzuno huffed and went to the next room. He recognized the room from the teddy bears around. It's Fuyuka's room. "A- Ano... A- Alice. Do y- you want t- to play w- with me?"

* * *

**Chapter two.**  
**END.**

* * *

Taiyou: I never thought it would be that... considering how you write the hint.  
Skullcandy1102: Well, sorry for trying to make it completely cryptic like that final notebook scrap. Oh, and time for some explanation to do.  
Fubuki: I'll do it. Author-san had me and Atsuya as Letty and Rick due to our personalities. While I resemble Rick in calmness, Atsuya resemble Letty in cheerfulness. Another is the fact that I had DID which make me turn into Atsuya for some time. Though the difference is, Atsuya whom Author-san picked to resemble Letty is the one to suffer DID. Rick never existed. And he is just another side of Letty just like how Atsuya never did existed as he had died four to five years before I met captain and the others. Rick is created from the step mother's abuse to Letty and Letty thought that Rick had been there with her. When she said Rick is there, her parents couldn't see him as, proven to what I previously mentioned, Rick never existed and is only another side of Letty. But Letty continued to believe that Rick is there. Hence why the shadow said that Atsuya is always alone in what Author-san had written. As for what happened to Letty's family, Rick took control of her body and burned the house down. Letty never realized and only saw it as a fire accident.  
Skullcandy1102: Well, Miwashiba-san based Rick as Hansel and Letty as Gretel though the roles are switched in Alice Mare. Since Rick is the one who saved Letty instead. As for the title, Two of us, I took it from Letty's ending title though I never actually got it. I only got "Good Night" and "Recipients of Love". And a few things if you are playing Letty's world. Don't eat the mushroom's. They're poisonous and would give a Game Over. Oh-  
Kidou: And in front of the house, there is this thing called Shard of XXXX which you need to get the ending "Recipients of Love". Am I right?  
Skullcandy1102: ...I was about to say that.  
Kidou: Least you saved some time for telling what those shards Suzuno took are.  
Skullcandy1102: Oh well... As for the blurred letters in the final scrap, there are lots of interpretations but I just thought of it to be that way. And I changed the actual contents of the scrap a bit. Since Atsuya is a guy. Time to work on the next one~.

Next chapter hint: _h_ c_l_r _e_ ― _i_t_e _e_ _i_i_g _o_d


	3. Chapter 3

Endou: Author-san~ You took too long~!  
Skullcandy1102: Endou, I'm in college. Even though my schedule as a multimedia student is pretty relaxing and the subjects are not so hard. It took me a while to get this finished.  
Endou: Oh. Okay...  
Skullcandy1102: Enjoy the chapter...  
**WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ALICE MARE!**

* * *

**赤いという景色 ― 赤ずきん**  
**The color red ― Little Red Riding Hood**

* * *

Opening his eyes, he found himself in a room. Full of teddy bears. 'This house seems normal... But let's look around first.' Suzuno got up and left the room. He noticed a dining room and a kitchen. There is another room and he entered to find Fuyuka sitting in a chair. "Fuyuka?" He called softly. Again, that startled the purple haired girl. "A- ah! Suzuno-kun..." "Sorry about that." He apologized. "I- it's alright... Do y- you know where we are?" She asked. "I don't know... But one thing for sure. This is a dream." He replied. "A dream... Okay... Thank you..." She softly spoke. "Fuyuka... I think you should try talk a bit louder." Suzuno suggested but she apologized. "Sorry... I'm not good at talking... But I don't exactly hate it... It was scary being alone... But I've calmed down a bit..." She then asked. "Will you go with me?"  
"Sure."  
"Okay! Oh, I found this paper when I got here..." Fuyuka gave a piece of paper which looked like the scraps that Suzuno found when he was in Atsuya and Shirou's dream world.

_"My mother has a very weak body._  
_So I do the cooking, washing, and other chores instead of her._  
_My father isn't home much._  
_Sometimes he brings home a wolf or a deer._  
_I want to go to school, but I love mother, so I always stay at home with her._  
_Mother always lies in bed, saying sorry, I'm sorry..._  
_And her voice sounds like it's about to fade away."_

'That was... a really hard decision for someone as young as her...' Suzuno thought. He soon kept the scrap in his own notebook and left the room with Fuyuka. However, when they tried to leave the house, the door is locked. "That's strange... What should we do...?" Fuyuka asked. "Shall we look around for more?" Suzuno suggested and Fuyuka nodded at the idea. Suzuno walk back to the first room that he is in. And saw a rabbit at the bedside table. "Good day... I'm really hungry now... Oooghh..." The rabbit groaned in pain. "If you need medicine, there is one in the room next over... but the medicine needs to be mixed... The first color goes... the second color yields... and the third color stops..." "Like traffic lights?" Suzuno wondered. "I'm not sure... that's what my grandma told me... But she said that if I mixed it wrong, it will explode... S-so I stayed away from there... Do you want to try?" Fuyuka muttered. Both of them went to the next room and found the medicine in the table. 'Traffic lights... huh?' Suzuno then picked the chemicals for the medicine in the order of green, yellow and red. And to his and Fuyuka's luck, it did not explode. "Phew... It didn't explode... I think the medicine should work..." Fuyuka told him and they went back to where the rabbit was and gave the medicine. "Thanks! Oh, I don't need this paper so I give it to you!" The rabbit gave a paper scrap to Suzuno.

_"My grandma in the woods had a job making medicine._  
_When my mother ran out of medicine, I'd go to grandma's house._  
_One day, mother told me to go there like always._  
_Today, she wanted to give a present too._  
_Since she was indebted to her. 'It's full of bread and wine, but you're not to eat it along the way. Like I always tell you, don't stray from the path. Because there's a scary wolf.'_  
_I said I'd do what she said and left the house._  
_While walking through the forest, I found a pretty flower garden."_

As soon as he finished, there is the sound of a door being unlocked. "Oh... it seems that we can go outside now..." Fuyuka commented. "Yeah." They left the house as soon as they heard the door. Suzuno found a vegetable patch, a scare crow and a few wooden logs near the house. Where he found the light shard near the logs. Both of them soon advanced forward. "We're outside... Now what do we do?" Fuyuka wondered and then remembered. "Ah... I met sensei before you came here..." 'Sensei?' "He told me not to go anywhere... But I guess I broke the promise... Shall we look for him?" She asked. "I guess we should." Suzuno agreed. "...Th- then let's go to grandma's house. Oh... can we pick some flowers over there?" Fuyuka requested, pointing at a flower field in front. Suzuno obliged and she took about five or so.  
"...I like the flowers here... But I was told not to pick them..."  
"Why?"  
"I'm not sure... Let's go. It should be straight from here..."  
Fuyuka guided the way but once there, they noticed that a bridge is not to be seen. "What should we do...? Uhh..." "What's wrong?" "My head..." Suddenly, an all too familiar figure appeared in front of them. "In a jam?" "Eek!" Fuyuka yelped but soon calmed down and looked at the hooded cat, whom called himself the Cheshire cat. He then greeted. "Hello Alice... and Alice!" Fuyuka stared at him but received a remark from him. "Don't stare too hard. It's deadly, y'know?"  
"E- eh!?"  
"Just kiddin'~ So you wanna cross the river? I can take you over. But it ain't free. Ya need to play a game, love'em don't cha?"  
'No.' Suzuno thought. No sooner, a cabbage, a wolf and a sheep appeared. "As you can see, I have a cabbage, a wolf, and a sheep. If you wanna row your boat, use your imagination, cept' there's a few things you need to keep in mind."  
"And that is...?"  
"One! You can only carry one thing on a boat at a time! Two! The sheep will eat the cabbage if you leave em be! Three! The same goes to the wolf if ya leave it with the sheep! Now how many time do you need to cross the river? Talk to me when you figure it out but... Just like the rules of Alice's worlds, you can only get three guesses~, guess wrong then it's a dead end~."  
'One at a time...?' He racked his brain thinking of how and soon came to the solution. "It's seven times." He answered. "Hoho! You're right kid! Promise is a promise! Now close your eyes~." And so the two did. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in the other side of the river. Suzuno felt a scrap of paper at his free hand while the other was being held by Fuyuka who was nervous. 

_"Don't stray from the path, I warned myself._  
_But I was sure grandma would be glad if I could bring her some flowers too._  
_So I picked a flower or two._  
_Then a man came by and asked if I knew a medicine-maker._  
_He must have meant grandma._  
_I told him I was going there too, so he should come with me._  
_The man smiled and helped me pick some flowers._  
_I don't hold hands with father much, so it was sort of a new sensation."_

"What's wrong?" Fuyuka asked as she noticed him spacing out. "It's nothing." "Then let's head in to see grandma. Her house is over there." Fuyuka pointed at the house in front of them. "I wonder if mom is okay... Grandma always say that she'll get better soon... But the thought of seeing mom never waking up... It made me cry... Father is all red... it's scary..." Fuyuka murmured in worry of her family.  
"Ne, do you have something that you wanted to protect?"  
"Saa..."  
"O- oh... I forgot you couldn't remember your family..."  
"It's alright. Shall we get going?"  
"Okay..."  
The two walked towards the house. But for some reason, it was locked. "It's locked...? What should we do...?"  
"So the door's locked huh?" A voice came from behind, they then saw a rabbit sitting at the log.  
"Well, that's weird cause the house never had a lock! Hahaha! I can help you with that but you see. Her squeakiness- Me, is currently wanting a flower. Practically can't live without it! Bring me one would you?"  
"We have some flowers here... Which one do you like?"  
"My, my! What a tiny, weird voice you have. Ahaha! Hohoh. I'll only say it once, so listen up. When she's red, she's passionate. When she's white, she gives pure XXXX. When she's blue, she's eternally devoted. But when's she's yellow, she's deeply jealous. Ah, but one last thing. She's very often mistaken for another. But unlike that other flower, she never hurts people! So don't make that mistake. Right, off you go. Bring me the wrong one, and I'll have to eat you."  
'Eat...?' Suzuno sweat drop at what the rabbit had said. 'But then again, anything's possible in a dream.' "Suzuno-kun, which one?" Fuyuka asked him as she showed the flowers she had picked. Tulip, Margaret, Rose, Pansy, and Carnation. 'It could be the rose... but roses have thorns... could it be the meaning of those flowers?' He wondered. 'Red tulip's meant a confession... The Margaret, also known as the Daisies meant innocence... Red roses meant love and also unity... The Pansy meant loving and caring thoughts... But the rabbit said it didn't hurt others... so the final option is...' "Fuyuka, can I have the Carnation?" He requested her. "Alright..." Fuyuka then handed the flower and he gave it to the rabbit "Well, well! So you really brought her! Ah, I'm so glad. Finally, I can eat!" the rabbit took the flower and then gobbled it up.  
"Ah! She ate it." said Fuyuka then the rabbit replied, "Hohoh. Very tasty. Truly the best of the best. Ah, yes, yes! Something to open the door. Here you are." Instead of a key, it was an axe. A large one. Suzuno hold on it as Fuyuka couldn't carry it due to the weight. "Oh, yes! You there! Hold on a moment. Take this as well. It's for you. the royalty does not need it." The rabbit gave him another paper scrap.

_"We reached grandma's house, and grandma waved to welcome me._  
_The man bowed slightly, too. 'The medicine is in the usual place.'._  
_I went to get mother's medicine from the back room._  
_Just then, I heard a loud sound._  
_There...there I saw...I saw a wolf eat grandma._  
_Then he stuffed a lot of medicine in a bag._  
_Then he noticed me, and started walking toward me."  
_  
'A wolf...? Could that man be the wolf that she mentioned?' He soon placed the scrap and went towards the door. "P- please..." Fuyuka pleaded and Suzuno used the axe to make a large opening at the door. They went inside and found Fuyuka's grandma sleeping in her bed. They went further inside to the storehouse where he found the world key and also the light shard. "I guess we couldn't find sensei... But how do we get out of this dream?" Fuyuka wondered. "This key is what we need to leave." Suzuno explained. "Oh... I see..." Their conversation is cut off when they heard a roar outside the storehouse. Fuyuka is the most startled one of them. "D- did that come from the other room...? I... I don't want to move from here!" Suzuno held her hand in an attempt to calm her down. "Let's go and see it together." "...Okay... But don't let me go... Don't leave me..." Fuyuka spoke shakily. He could feel the fear she had and slowly, walked back to see the shadow of a wolf killing her sleeping grandmother. The metallic smell of blood soon spread in the air of the room.  
"No! You're not grandma! Wake up, wake up! Right...it's just a Dream...I don't wanna see it! Not again! I won't do it again! I mean it...! Forgive me! Forgive me..." Fuyuka screamed as she saw the shadow. The shadow soon come closer towards her and in defense, Suzuno used the axe to attack it and killed the wolf. Blood spurted out and some of it stain Fuyuka's clothes and her face.  
"Father... R- red... The color red... I hate it... Make it stop..." Fuyuka murmured and it looked like that she is in the verge of crying as Suzuno saw her slightly trembling at the sight of the red liquid coming out of the shadow. Fuyuka closed her eyes and said. "...I close my eyes. So I wouldn't see them." She then requested. "Ne... Can you hold my hand for a while?" "Okay..." Suzuno obliged. When he did, he found another scrap near to where they were.

_"I can't...look people in the eye._  
_I'm scared to...hold their hand._  
_It makes me...remember it._  
_If only...I hadn't picked those flowers. And hadn't met him._  
_And hadn't. ...held his hand._  
_Lots...of blood came out._  
_It smelled...really bad._  
_Sensei, I'm... still a little scared. But I'm... sort of okay._  
_Sensei, I... st- can'- -ve -th-. Those eyes... were -. Help me..."_

The final parts that he interpreted are "I ... still can't forgive father. Those eyes... were red. Help me..." 'Most of them... They had a past that they wanted to forget and hidden... and something that made them to who they are now... But who is the one who killed the wolf? Was it Fuyuka? Or was it someone else?' He wondered but everything soon turned blank and he found himself back in the halls once more.

-  
"What's wrong? You seem down." The white rabbit asked as he saw Suzuno return to the halls. He didn't answer as he found that going inside the world's meant facing the traumatic past that his friends had. So Suzuno showed the world key instead. "Ah, I see you found the key. And I'll collect the items you found." He told the young boy and then gave a Vermillion notebook.

Suzuno walked back and met with the Cheshire cat once more. Who said. "They just say what you want, but when you say something bad, you got a knife at your throat. Yeesh, so what am I supposed to say!" He kept silent for a moment and then continued, "Ah, that's it. Sayin' nothin' must be best. But won't I die of loneliness if I stop sayin' anything? Alright, maybe I'll just woof and meow like a dog or a cat. Pesky knowledge just dirties the heart." This resulted a sigh exhaled from the mouth of the boy and a tired expression clear at his ice blue eyes.  
"Don't even feel like faking, do ya? You look tired as hell again. Don't have to what you don't wanna. Trying's the first step towards exhaustion. Or heck, maybe there's a reason to it?"  
"Saa..."  
"Oh, really. Well, I'll see you next time. You tryin' to help the people in the Worlds? I know Rabbit told you too, but you're guaranteed a bad end the second you go into their World. You still gonna keep going?"  
Suzuno didn't answer and just nodded at him. "Boy, you're just like him. Anyone ever teach you that? Hey, it's time we'll talk later." then he vanished. Suzuno was wondering on the person that the cat meant but shrug off the thought as he entered the next world. He then talked to the next person, who is Kariya.  
"Yo Alice! Nice weather here! You know the perfect thing for this kind of time? Let's play!"

* * *

**Chapter three.**  
**End**

* * *

Endou: FUYUPPE KILLED THE GUY!?  
Skullcandy1102: Actually... No.  
Endou: Phew... but I think it's six letters before "Father"? Forgive is seven letters.  
Skullcandy1102: Beats me. That's the only word I could think of when I tried to solve it. And the rest could be up to anyone's interpretations. And as for who really killed the wolf, I think I'll tell it later.


End file.
